Massive leap forward for one of Northern Europe’s key dronehubs

The Danish Defence establishes a new drone center at HCA Airport, right next to one of Northern Europe’s leading drone test hubs. The center is expected to further strengthen the Danish airport’s position as one of the key powerhouses for drone development and dual-use solutions in the region.

One of Northern Europe’s leading powerhouses for drone development just got even stronger.

This was made official last week, as the Danish Defence launched its plans of establishing a drone center at the small Danish airport HCA Airport. An airport, which already features the internationally renowned UAS Denmark Test Center and a flourishing drone- and counter-drone ecosystem

The new drone centre will be responsible for the training of Danish Defence units as well as drive development in the drone field through experience gathering and collaboration with industry and research institutions. When fully up and running in 2026, the center – part of an overall, billion-dollar scale-up of the Danish Defence, is expected to employ around 100 people.

The total investment amounts to around 100 million euros over the next decade.

“This is great news. Not just for our test center, but also for the local drone ecosystem as a whole. We already have a strong collaboration with the Danish Defence, and we see the establishment of this new center as the perfect opportunity to further strengthen the ties with the Danish Defence and its skilled people,” says Michael Larsen, Head of UAS Denmark Test Center.

‘A massive leap forward’

UAS Denmark Test Center was inaugurated in 2013. Today, the center encompasses a broad array of test facilities as well as an almost 3.000 km2 big BVLOS flight zone that stretches over land and sea and interlinks with a military airspace.

HCA Airport’s adherent business park features several drone and counter-drone companies, for example Danish payload supplier Quadsat and major drone developer Thunderstrike.

According to the mayor of Odense, the addition of the drone center to the drone ecosystem in and around HCA Airport is another milestone in Odense’s journey towards becoming a regional drone hub.

”The drone-ecosystem in and around Hans Christian Airport stands stronger than ever. And with a new national drone center for the Danish Defence on the horizon, the cluster is about to take a massive leap forward. It is a testament to the unique environment that has been created for testing and developing drones and anti-drone measures. With strong synergies between cutting edge research from University of
Southern Denmark, innovative companies and now a massive investment and presence from the Danish Defence, Hans Christian Andersen is rapidly becoming a European drone-hotspot”, says Peter Rahbæk Juel, mayor of Odense.

In fact, HCA Airport is currently expanding its business park with four hectares in order to accommodate further growth.

Triple Helix

University of Southern Denmark, one of the founding partners of UAS Denmark Test Center and a key player in the ecosystem with its own drone lab, also sees a massive potential for further expanding the collaboration between industry, academia and defence:

”The new drone center reinforces the unique innovation and research environment we’ve built in Odense. At University of Southern Denmark, we are proud to be part of an ecosystem where research, industry and defence come together to solve real-world challenges. With our expertise in drone technology, autonomous systems and dual-use solutions, we see great potential for creating new knowledge and
technologies that benefit both society and national security”, says Henrik Bindslev, Dean at The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Southern Denmark.

Learnings from Ukraine

Michael Larsen is confident that the establishment of the national drone center will foster new, innovative dual-use solutions

“Having drone developers on the same premises as hard-core end-users such as the Danish Defence, will for sure pave way for new collaborations and new ways of doing things. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that it is indeed possible to move fast and quickly deploy new solutions, and I hope that we can bring forward a similar approach here in the sandbox we call UAS Denmark Test Center,” Michael Larsen concludes.

Facts about UAS Denmark Test Center

 Based at HCA Airport in Odense, Denmark
 One of the leading hubs for drone and counter-drone testing and development in Northern Europe
 Facilities include multiple labs, photogrammetric test facilities, Arctic test facilities and an almost 3.000 km2 BVLOS flight area across land as well as sea
 In 2024, UAS Denmark Test Center featured more than 5.500 drone operations